Braxiatel dreamed of long hours of uncertainty where Bernice's laughter fortified his strength. He couldn't be hurt by her mockery here. He stood back and watched her, this old friend of his, the brave feeder of mythic bulls.

"We've been through too much, and I know you too well."

He had just considered how to murder her ex-husband. The thought had been unbidden and quickly passed over, but it was there. Braxiatel couldn't afford to worry about his own thoughts. Keeping them away from the rest of the world was effort enough. What would Benny think, if she could see the ideas that moved through his head?

He regretted that he could not tell her the dreams he'd been having. It would be better if she had someone else who understood and had lived the whole thing out with her, but he couldn't tell her that the dead timeline was still alive in his head. Bernice needed to be able to let the Occupation go, and for that, Braxiatel would have to do everything in his power to show her that it was completely over with. He just had to hope that he had balanced the scales properly, and that isolation was better than knowing about the bad history that still lived on a step sideways in reality.

"Oh good," said Braxiatel as the bull licked up the sugar lump. "They do. Watch your fingers."